Before going live for their Texas Takeover episode of “TODAY” in Austin, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager spoke with Austin.com about all things ATX. From Hager’s tour guide skills, to her favorite spots in town and more, here’s everything we chatted about!
Welcome to Austin, Hoda Kotb!
When asked what it’s like to be in Austin, here’s what each of them had to say.
JBH: “It’s been so amazing to be here but also to be here with Hoda. Hoda’s never been to Austin. She’s one of the few Americans who hasn’t visited!”
HK: ” I know. And, by the way, there’s no better way to see Austin than with this girl because she’s so in love with it. It’s like it’s a beating heart, Austin is, for this girl right here. I said to Jenna, it feels like the smallest town in the world. Because everywhere we go, they’re like, ‘Jenna, 7th grade, remember?’ Her old cross country coach, her old boyfriend from 7th grade, her prom date… they’re like all coming out and it’s been so fun to watch Austin kind of through Jenna’s eyes and be part of it.”
Jenna Bush Hager Shares Her Favorite Places in Austin
Their trip was well documented as you may have seen on October 24’s episode, but we still wanted to hear about Hager’s favorite things to do and see when she comes back to town.
JBH: “Well, I mean, we’ve done some of them which is so much fun. We went to Donn’s Depot. (Hoda interjects, Oh, I loved that!) Donn was there himself which was so much fun. We took a ride to show her the El Arroyo sign and they posted a little hilarious thing… Something like, proudly serving Jenna margaritas for 24 years. And if you do the math, you get the joke. We went and had Mexican food at Joann’s. I took her to South Congress to show her all of that. It’s changed so much but we used to go to South Congress and hang out. We heard music. We just had the best best time.”
HK: “And Austin High School, I think, was my favorite of all. Because when we walked in, Jenna kind of got butterflies, cause it was like going home again. As we walked the halls we went into the gym and it was the most humongous pep rally I had seen outside of high school myself. The bands played, the dancers dances, and they presented Jenna with this beautiful award. She’s weeping, the kids are cheering, and I was like, this is what coming home should feel like.”
Just before going live, as the fans at the Long Center cheered and sent their love to the hosts, Hager turned to the crowd and hollered, “Now I want to move here!”
And that makes perfect sense as it sounds like Austin truly is home for her.
“I’m so proud of where I grew up,” Hager said. “And I’m so proud of where I went to high school and it just reminded me of everything that Austin has given me, which is a lot.”
